The History Book Club discussion

Hello Everyone,


For the week of June 17, 2013 - June 23, 2013, we are reading Chapters 23, 24, Epilogue and Note to Readers of House of Stone.

The twelfth week's reading assignment is:

WEEK TWELVE: June 17, 2013 - June 23, 2013 (pp 2278-311)
Chapter 23 - Oh Laila (pp 278-285
Chapter 24 - My Jedeida (pp 286-301)

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.

This book is being kicked off on April 1,2013.. We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, or on your Kindle. This weekly thread will be opened up today, April 1, 2013.

There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.

Jill will be moderating this discussion.

Welcome,

~Bentley


TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

by Anthony Shadid


REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS - ON EACH WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREAD - WE ONLY DISCUSS THE PAGES ASSIGNED OR THE PAGES WHICH WERE COVERED IN PREVIOUS WEEKS. IF YOU GO AHEAD OR WANT TO ENGAGE IN MORE EXPANSIVE DISCUSSION - POST THOSE COMMENTS IN ONE OF THE SPOILER THREADS. THESE CHAPTERS ARE EXTREMELY DENSE SO WHEN IN DOUBT CHECK WITH THE CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY TO RECALL WHETHER YOUR COMMENTS ARE ASSIGNMENT SPECIFIC. EXAMPLES OF SPOILER THREADS ARE THE GLOSSARY, THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE INTRODUCTION AND THE BOOK AS A WHOLE THREADS.

Notes:

It is always a tremendous help when you quote specifically from the book itself and reference the chapter and page numbers when responding. The text itself helps folks know what you are referencing and makes things clear.

Citations

If an author or book is mentioned other than the book and author being discussed, citations must be included according to our guidelines. Also, when citing other sources, please provide credit where credit is due and/or the link. There is no need to re-cite the author and the book we are discussing however.

If you need help - here is a thread called the Mechanics of the Board which will show you how:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2........................

Glossary

Remember there is a glossary thread where ancillary information is placed by the moderator. This is also a thread where additional information can be placed by the group members regarding the subject matter being discussed.

goodreads.com/topic/show/1263001-hous...

Bibliography

There is a Bibliography where books cited in the text are posted with proper citations and reviews. We also post the books that the author used in her research or in her notes. Please also feel free to add to the Bibliography thread any related books, etc with proper citations. No self promotion, please.

goodreads.com/topic/show/1262982-hous...

TOC and the Syllabus

The following is a link to the table of contents for the book and the weekly syllabus:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...............

Book as a Whole Thread

The following is a link to the Final Thoughts and Book as a Whole.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...............

by Anthony Shadid

Chapter Overviews and Summaries


Chapter 23 - Oh Laila (pp 278-285)

Shadid learns a disturbing story from Najib, the brother of his stonemason. Albert Haddad, a collaborator had lived upstairs in the house during the Israeli occupation. Najib tells him that Haddad had worked for an Israeli military intelligence outfit and carried out assassinations. No one knows where he is now but the story is the darkest chapter of the history of Isber's house.

Shadid reminisces about his great grandmother and how, after she died, the children took care of the house. Then civil war broke out and the house was looted and badly damaged. It now looked the way that Shadid found it.

The end of his stay in Marjayoun is approaching, and Shadid invites Shibil who is celebrating his birthday to have lunch in a nearby town. Shibil is not happy and really doesn't know what he is looking for. He and Shadid agree that they like Marjayoun, "maybe not the town itself but the friends, the house, the setting" (pg. 283). Shadid tells Shibil that he is going to miss him and they drink many toasts. Shibil says that he loved living in Oklahoma but one morning the picture of his girl friend fell off the wall and he took it as a sign to return to Lebanon.

Chapter 24 - My Jedeida (pp 286-301)

The summer has come bringing with it the deadline for the completion of the house but also the end of Shadid's time away from his job.. He braces for his return to a different life.

War had erupted in Beirut and Shadid feels he should go back to his work as a journalist although he fights the feeling that he will just stay and work on the house. He leaves.

The road to Beirut is in war-mode, soldiers, tanks, and road blocks. The situation in Beirut has taken a turn for the worse....shooting and burning. Hezbollah forces are deployed across the city and Beirut is paralyzed.

Shadid had promised his daughter to take her to his mother's wedding in Washington. He remembers how he let her down in the past while covering the prior war. He meets with resistance on the way to the airport and finds that flights are cancelled. He finally makes connections and one plane leaves the airport that day.....he is on it.

When he returns to Lebanon, he finds that many have died and that the Hezbollah victory has stopped the war, at least for now. Now the negotiations start and finally end with the choosing of a President. But Shadid knows that nothing is really resolved. Lives were shattered and ruined for nothing.

The work on the house is continuing at a fever pitch and so is the arguing among the workers and Abu Jean. But they are close to completion. Shadid remembers when he came a year ago feeling estranged and now he had a sense of belonging. The house was his." Rather than a channel to the past or a facsimile of it, it had become new, part of what was and what would and could be". (pg. 298)

He sees Dr. Khairalla for the last time as he is now in the hospital. They speak of the gardens and flowers that the doctor loved but can no longer tend The both know that his fate is now in the hands of God.

Epilogue (pp 303-307)

Now back to work, Shadid is in Egypt when the revolution takes hold. He walks in Tahrir Square in Cairo which is filled with celebration. In March, he goes to Libya and he and three fellow reporters are jailed as spies and are beaten and bound. They are taken to Tripoli where Turkish diplomats negotiate their release.

He goes to Marjayoun with his new wife and infant son. His daughter will soon arrive for a visit and he feels at peace. This is bayt.

Notes To Readers (pp 309-311)

"My daughter Laila was my inspiration to begin this book. The love and commitment of my wife Nada allowed me to finish it." (pg 310)

He wrote the book as a testament to his far-flung family and to the spirit of those who have passed away. He also thanks Dr. Khairalla and Abu Jean and his friends in Marjayoun for their assistance and the stories passed down through the generation of the town and family.

The story of the Israeli collaborator, Haddad. who lived in the house during the occupation and commanded a regiment of assassins may be another of those myths that grow out of times of strife, don't you think?

Good information, Libby. I had forgotten about the Phalangists. What a time that was!!!! But sometimes it is so hard to believe what Shadid's friends tell him since almost everything is built on rumor and inference....but at least it is colorful!

Once some of the older people in Marjayoun died or left, the homes and the life of the town changed dramatically and the war(s) left so much ruin. I think Shadid's relatives tried to keep the house in presentable shape after his great grandmother died but circumstances overcame them. It is so difficult for us to relate to what the chaos of war can do unless we consider our own War Between the States. But even then, the government finally stabilized and people began to rebound. It doesn't appear that this happens or will happen in Lebanon since there are too many outside forces at work as well as internal strife. wouldn't you agree?

To be honest, I knew very little about Lebanon before I read this book and, although it is not a history book of the country in general, the situation of internal/external crisis that is described does not surprise me. I think that is because I have often linked the Middle Eastern countries to situations like those in Iraq or Syria for example. The constant turmoil that seems to swirl there often blurs the lines among countries and Lebanon is caught in it. The use of religion as a focus for mayhem and war is as old as time and I fear that Lebanon has little chance of stability. Just my opinion.

War has broken out in Beirut and Shadid feels the pull of his journalism profession although he would rather stay in Marjayoun and not face the ugliness and death. But he goes, and finds Beirut in the throes of rebellion lead by Hezbollah. He has promised his daughter, Laila, that he would be with her in Washington,DC in two days and he has disappointed her too many times. He must get there and has a flight scheduled. I wondered at this point if his job would override his desire to see his daughter or if the breaking news in Beirut would hold him there. How much does his professionalism control his life?

Shadid visits Cecil's friend, Assem and they discuss the political situation. Both question the viability of Lebanon and decide it is a question mark. I would agree but others may not.

What kind words, Libby. It dusted off some history for me too. I am not very well versed in the Middle East as I would like to be, so this book helped me even though it wasn't really a history book.

Nor do I......but I could guess that maybe it was cultivated because Hezbollah was so successful in Lebanon and it spilled over into Iran. It makes sense to pick up the banner of the organization that is successful in order to add credulity to your own efforts.

I wonder why the priest did not offer to bless the house when he visited? All he seemed to do was find fault and then sauntered away.

We forget priests are human beings and some are better at being priests than others I suppose.

Since the priest also was a mosaic maker, he may have been disgruntled because Shadid didn't contract with him for some of the tile work. But it wasn't a very welcoming gesture to fail to bless the house.

Dr. Khairalla is on his death bed and as a physician he is well aware that his time is short......but he and Shadid discuss the gardens and how they will look next year. I feel that his death will further negatively impact the viability of Marjayoun....or will it have no effect on the town which is hanging on by its fingertips?

No, he was Christian..... so that's not the reason although it certainly would make sense. But the priest may have thought he was Muslin.......I get the feeling that he may have just been one of those residents who was not welcoming to Shadid and viewed him as an outsider.

Shadid returns to his journalistic life and is unlucky enough to be in Libya where he is captured, jailed and beaten. He expects to be executed but Turkish diplomats negotiate his release. He and his new wife and infant son return to Marjayoun. He is home and now he knows the meaning of bayt.
I was surprised that such a personal book revealed very little about his daughter Laila and nothing about his new wife and son who are only mentioned in the next to last page of the book. I would think that they would be part of bayt as well even though this is a book about family in the larger sense.

Well said, Libby, and I think your ideas are very plausible.

I would agree, Libby but still have to say that his almost complete omission of any information about his second wife was odd. Like you, I get the feeling that the second marriage was happier. The "Note to Readers" mentions that her name is Nada, so it is probable that she is Lebanese and therefore, more attuned to the lifestyle of Shadid.

She is Lebanese, Jill.

Hi Jill, check out the videos that I added for the House of Stone in the video section - there were six films about the house and I also added a couple of interviews with his second wife and she talked about herself, etc.

I saw the videos but I was just surprised that the book didn't say much about her. I had forgotten about her nationality, so it looks like the brain has finally given way at last!!!

I would like to thank all the members who participated on this featured read, and remind you, if you haven't already, to put your final thoughts about the book at the link below.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I enjoyed your perceptive and insightful comments and hope you enjoyed this narrative trip to the Middle East. Don't forget to add this book to your Book Safari to the Middle East challenge.

A big thank-you to Bentley, our group founder, who was instrumental in putting this thread together.

You did an outstanding job, Jill.

Thanks DonnaR for your kind words.

Jill wrote: "I saw the videos but I was just surprised that the book didn't say much about her. I had forgotten about her nationality, so it looks like the brain has finally given way at last!!!"

No not at all (smile) - good job. This was a great first World Literature selection and a Middle East challenge book as well. Great combo.

We are so glad you enjoyed it - Jill did the lion's share on this book and did a great job.

Thanks, Libby. Your participation was appreciated.